How hard did you try?

I met American University arts management grad student Zack Hayhurst last night at the monthly Florida Creatives Meet-up and he mentioned me in a post relating to a topic we discussed: the failure of Orlando Opera Company.

Now, I of course have no insider info as to the whys and wheres of their demise, but I do know how I *feel* about the people I keep running into (not Zack) who say "If Orlando wanted opera, they would have kept the opera." All I have to say is, we do not know the quality of outreach that was performed by those in charge of such tasks, and we do not know the depth of penetration that was received by Orlando citizens after those outreach efforts were performed.

"I met a local actor and arts blogger, Mark Baratelli. He writes for and is the editor of The Daily City, a blog that focuses primarily on the local happenings of the Orlando/Central Florida arts and culture scene.

We had an interesting discussion, primarily focusing on the Orlando Opera Company’s recent collapse, and the ineffectiveness exhibited by the majority of arts organizations in regards to their online marketing and social media accounts. Mark made some really good points, and got me thinking about the arts organizations I am familiar with, and how their sites probably could be a lot better than they are."

The same day, I had a long talk that briefly dived into the topic of how few people in Orlando even know about the Orlando Fringe. While it remains the largest arts event in the city, its relatively unknown (or at least unvisited) by a majority of citizens.

What are these two entities doing as far as outreach? How can I help? How can you help? And most importantly, when will arts orgs in genera start *asking* for help from us? Don't tell me they don't want it. That would make me mad.